The prior art discloses vehicles that include a pair of laterally oriented roof openings which are selectively opened and closed by a pair of removable roof panels. The U.S. patent of Buehrig, U.S. Pat. No. 2,556,062, discloses a vehicle having such a removable roof panel construction. In the Buehrig patent, each roof opening also includes a seal that extends around the front, the inboard side, and the rear of the opening to provide sealing when the roof panel is closed. The inboard portions of the seals are located on opposite sides of a central strut that connects the vehicle windshield header with a rear portion of the roof. This strut is located between the roof openings and thereby provides structural rigidity to the vehicle while still permitting a convertible-like opening of the roof with the panels removed.
Prior two passenger vehicles manufactured by the General Motors Corporation of Detroit, Mich., in the United States of America, under the trademark CORVETTE have also included a pair of laterally oriented roof openings that are selectively opened and closed by a pair of removable panels. With such CORVETTE vehicles, the roof panels support seals that engage the front windshield header, the central strut between the roof openings, and the rear roof portion in order to provide a sealed relationship with the panels secured to the vehicle. With such a seal construction, any discontinuity in the sealed relationship of the seal can result in leakage that permits water entry into the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,529, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a vehicle having a pair of laterally oriented roof openings that are selectively closed by a pair of removable panels and sealed by a pair of drainage seals that are mounted on the vehicle body rather than on the panels. Such a construction provides enhanced sealing since a small discontinuity in the sealed relationship of each seal with the roof panel does not result in leakage. Rather, the roof openings are bounded by channels partially defined by the seals such that water is directed toward the lateral outboard ends of the roof openings where the outboard edges of the closed roof panels are located. Such outboard ends of the channels are located approximately above the front seat occupant's lap and above the feet of any rear seat passenger in commercial vehicle that have been constructed in accordance with the teachings of this patent.